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Stanford: Editorial: New RIAA policy fairer but imperfect(U-Wire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) UWIRE-01/22/2009-Stanford: Editorial: New RIAA policy fairer but imperfect (C) 2008 The Stanford Daily via UWIRE By Editorial Board, The Stanford Daily (Stanford) STANFORD, Calif. -- The editorial board would like to commend the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for its new policies regarding file sharing, which shift away from litigation and towards a more fair warning system (See "Recording industry alters piracy policy" in the Jan. 16 issue of The Daily). The new RIAA policy, which features Internet Service Provider (ISP) partnerships, aims to provide warnings of illegal conduct directly to users instead of slapping them with pre-litigation settlement fees or filing law suits. The RIAA plans to provide cooperative ISPs with the IP addresses of illegal file sharers. The ISPs will then alert their clients of illegal activity and ask them to stop. If illegal file sharing continues beyond two warnings, the ISP will revoke Internet access from the user. We appreciate this more forgiving system that targets habitual users rather than infrequent violators or unsuspecting individuals unaware of the possibility of incurring fines. While the editorial board thoroughly appreciates the three-strike policy as an alternative to immediate fines and litigation, we fail to see how this policy could possibly be beneficial for, or enticing to, ISPs. As the RIAA policy currently stands, violators are confronted directly and the ISP loses nothing. But by striking a deal with the RIAA that involves revoking Internet access, the ISPs are essentially agreeing to harm their own business. Though Stanford may understandably wish to protect its students and therefore be willing to serve as the go-between for students and the RIAA, such a policy does not make sense for other ISPs, who stand to lose nothing from direct RIAA action. Asking ISPs to serve as a middleman is at best inappropriate. Despite the fact that the editorial board doesn't fully understand the use of general ISPs as go-betweens, we are appreciative that Stanford is willing to serve in this role for the protection of its students. Internet access from certain students, Stanford has less to lose than a regular ISP. Stanford does, however, have more to gain by protecting the well being of its students and keeping them out of legal trouble. The editorial board suggests that the University, which benefits from this new policy significantly more than other ISPs, adopt it and a partnership with the RIAA wholeheartedly. Despite the inappropriate nature of serving as a go-between, the three-strike policy is monumentally more fair than the previous method of litigation, which more often than not caught those not savvy enough to game the system (See "RIAA demands fines from 15 students" in the Jan. 24, 2008 issue of The Daily). Stanford students hopefully will be able to avoid financially devastating settlements, especially in such a down economy. The editorial board would like to note, however, that despite the new and improved policies, we have little hope that illegal file sharing on campus and across the country will decrease significantly. Students will always find ways to escape the RIAA's watchful eye, and this new policy is unlikely to eradicate file sharing if litigation did not. Nevertheless, we are strongly in favor of the new policies, and can only hope that students become more cautious and responsible with regards to their file sharing tendencies. ##30## ((Distributed on bahalf of U-Wire via M2 Communications Ltd - http://www.m2.com)) ((U-Wire - http://www.uwire.com)) Copyright ? 2009 U-Wire |